Fluid supply mechanism for standard paint roll equipment



Sept. 12, 1967 P; SKANDALIARIS 3,340,562

FLUID SUPPLY MECHANISM FOR STANDARD PAINT ROLL EQUIPMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 19. 1966 1 I INVENTOR, F/z'z'l J/Tamdalz'a rz's ATTORNEYS Sept. 12,1967 SKAINDVALIARISI 5 3,

FLUID SUPPLY MECHANISM FOR STANDARD PAINT ROLL EQUIPMENT Filed Sept. 19, 1966 2'Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY A v v v 7 .ut vm' iii-Z4, 9211.1 (a

1 v ATTORNEYJ United States Patent 3,340,562 FLUID SUPPLY MECHANISM FOR STANDARD PAINT ROLL EQUIPMENT Phil Skandaliaris, 711 Virginia Ave., Tarpon Springs, Fla. 33589 Filed Sept. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 580,477 9 Claims. (Cl. 15575) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for supplying paint or other coating material to a roller as desired without the necessity of removing the roller from the surface being coated.

This is a continuation-in-part application of co-pending application Serial No. 425,504, now abandoned.

This invention relates to the coating of surfaces of various kinds with various materials of multiple colors and particularly to the printing of surfaces including the inner and outer walls of buildings and the like, and the invention relates to apparatus and equipment employed in the operations described.

The invention relates particularly to roller type painting or coating applying equipment, and to means for providing a supply of paint or other fluid to the roller during the use of the same to enable the roller to be either continuously or intermittently used in the coating or painting process.

Paint and other coatings have been applied by mechanical means including a hose and a pump or other means for producing pressure suflicient to project the paint onto the surface to be painted. Also rollers have been provided for rolling a coating onto a surface and some of these rollers have been of the dip type and others have been of the tank type filled with fluid to be applied. Dipping and filling are time consuming and delay the operation and consequently are expensive, as well as result in an uneven application of the coating.

It is an object of the invention to provide apparatus for supplying paint at a desired rate of flow to a standard paint roller to permit the roller to be used without interruption as long as desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide paint supply mechanism of a character to supply paint, which can be adjusted with relation to a roller applicator to accommodate the consistency of the paint and control means to interrupt the supply when the roller is not in use.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustrating one application of the invention;

FIG. 2, a perspective of the applicator head per se;

FIG. 3, a transverse section on the line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4, an elevation of the handle and supply conduit with control valve for controlling the supply of paint to the paint applicator;

FIG. 5, a transverse section on the line 55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6-, a perspective of a modified form of the invention;

FIG. 7, a transverse section on the line 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8, a front elevation; and

33405562 Patented Sept. 12, 1967 FIG. 9, a perspective of the mounting bracket of FIG. 6.

Briefly stated the fluid or paint supply mechanism or apparatus of the present invention includes a supply conduit for paint or other coating under pressure, such supply conduit supplying material through a manually operable control valve and a pair of spaced flexible connections to a tubular header of substantially the length of a roller applicator, the tubular header having a lengthwise slot or a series of opening for paint to pass to the roller applicator, mechanism being provided for adjustably mounting the tubular header for location in various positions relative to the paint roller applicator, the mechanism mounting the supply header being adjustable to accommodate itself to applicators of different lengths.

With continued reference to the drawings, FIGS. 1-5 illustrate a conventional applicator or paint roller 10 provided with the usual applicator surface. This roller is mounted on a shaft 11 and retained thereon by wing nuts 12. The shaft 11 is carried in a yoke-like structure having side bars or members 13 each of which has an opening at one end in which the shaft 11 is received and a right angular portion 15 at the opposite end provided with elongated slots 16.

The ring angular portions 15 of the side bars are slidably received within slots 17 in opposite ends of a connecting member 18 which has a central projection 19 threadedly received within and supported by one end of a hollow tubular shaft or handle 20. The angular portions 15 are adjustably fastened to the connecting member 18 by bolts and wing nuts 21. 'Thus the side bars 13 may be adjusted lengthwise of the connecting member 18 or toward and from each other to accommodate a supply or paint header 22 of a length corresponding generally to the length of the roller 10. The supply header has threaded extremities 23 received in cap nuts 24 with concentric threaded studs 25 receive and retained in openings in one end of a pair of header mounting brackets 26 by means of wing nuts 27. 1

The header 22 is provided with a series of openings or a discharge slot 28 located lengthwise therein and extending substantially the length of the header. The header mounting brackets 26 are provided with a series of openings 29 in which are selectively received bolts and nuts 30 which extend through openings in the side bars 13 and adjustably connect the brackets 26 thereto. Thus the relative relation or nearness of the header 22 by means of which paint is supplied to the roller is adjusted.

In order to supply paint or other material to the header 22, such header is provided with spaced couplings 31, one adjacent each end of the header to which are connected flexible supply lines 32 which extend from a T coupling 33 attached to a pipe 34 provided with a control valve 35 mounted by means of a clamp 36 on the end of the hollow tubular handle 20 adjacent to the roller 10. The valve has an operating arm 38 which normally is maintained in closed position by means of a spring 39. The operating arm 38 can be moved through an are from a closed to an open position by means of an operating cable or connection 40. The cable 40 is mounted in guides 41 and is connected to a bell crank operating lever 42 mounted on a pivot 43 carried by a clamp 44 on the lower or opposite end of the hollow tubular handle 20. A supply line 45, preferably flexible, is connected at one end to the valve 35 and extends into and through the handle 20 and terminates in a threaded connection 46 to which a combination air and paint or coating line 47 extends from a paint supply (not shown) subjected to pressure by a pump or other means.

In the operation of the device paint or other fluid material is subjected to pressure and introduced into the device through the line 47 and the line 45 to the control valve 35. As the roller is moved over a surface to be painted such roller will spread the paint or other material carried by the roller in a relatively thin coat on such surface. When the supply of paint on the roller is substantially exhausted, the operating lever 42 is retracted so that the cable 40 opens the valve 35 and permits the paint or other fluid to pass through the pipe 34 and the flexible supply lines 32 into the supply header from which it is discharged onto the roller 10 to replenish the supply of material thereof. As soon as the handle 42 is released the spring 39 will return the control valve to a closed position.

With reference to FIGS. 6-9 a modified form of the invention is disclosed in which the applicator or paint roller 10 is mounted on a yoke 50 having an intermediate portion 51 and a pair of outwardly extending arms 52. The outer ends of the arms 52 are provided with openings 53 for the reception of the shaft 11 on which the roller 10 is mounted. In this modification the space between the arms 52 is fixed in accordance with the length of a standard paint roller and if desired several sizes could be provided to accommodate rollers of different lengths. An arcuate bracket 54 may be formed integrally with the arms 52 or mounted on each of the arms 52 in any desired manner, as by welding or the like, and such bracket may have a plurality of radially disposed slots 55 extending inwardly from the arcuate edge. Preferably the slots 55 radiate from the openings 53 so that the paint header 22 can be received within a pair of selected slots and will remain at a predetermined distance from the paint roller 10. i

The yoke 50 may be mounted on the hollow tubular shaft 20 in any desired manner, as by mounting a rod 56 on the intermediate portion 51 of the yoke 50 and providing the free end of such rod with a roughened portion 57 of a diameter to fit snugly within the handle 20. The upper end of the handle may be threaded and provided with one or more slots 58 extending inwardly from one end of the handle along the longitudinal axis thereof. A nut 59 having internal threads complementary to the threads of the handle is threadedly received thereon and adapted to contract the end of the handle to cause such end to clampingly engage the roughened portion 57 of the rod 56 and hold the yoke 50 in fixed position. A Y-coupling 60 is mounted on the rod 56 adjacent the outer end thereof in any desired manner, as :by a band 61. The flexible supply lines 32 of the header 22 are connected to the forks of the Y-coupling 60 and the stem of such coupling is connected to the supply pipe 45 which extends upwardly through the handle.

A valve housing 63 may be mounted on the lower end of the handle 20 or mounted adjacent to such lower end. The supply pipe 45 is connected to the upper end of such valve housing, while the lower end of the housing is connected to the supply line 47. The valve housing 63 has a spring loaded valve 64 adjacent its upper end where it is accessible to at least one hand of the operator so that the operator can depress the valve 64 when desired and permit paint or other coating material to flow through the supply lines 47 and 45 into the header 22 where it will be discharged onto the roller 10.

In the operation of this modification the header 22 is mounted within a selected pair of slots 55 in the bracket 54 depending upon the angularity of the surface to be coated as well as the position of the operator. The header 22 preferably is located substantially directly above the paint roller so that any paint discharged from the header will fall by gravity onto the roller.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that with the device of the present invention a paint or coating roller or applicator can be supplied with a liquid paint or coating material intermittently as needed or continuously and thereby materially speeding up the work done, and with substantial saving in labor and the waste of paint, as well as achieving other advantages.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination an applicator roller for applying a coating to a surface, a yoke for said roller, said yoke being adjustable as to width to accommodate rollers of different lengths, a handle attached to said yoke by which said roller can be caused to traverse a surface to which a coating substance is to be applied, a tubular header of a length corresponding to the length of said roller and having a paint discharge area along the length on the same, a member receiving and closing each end of said tubular header and each member having an axial extension, a pair of brackets, one engaging each of said axial extensions and adjustably pivoted to said yoke to allow variation in proximity of said header to said roller, a supply conduit having a flexible connection to said header, floW control means in said supply conduit near said connection to said header, means biasing said flow control means toward off position, an operating member operatively associated with said handle, and an operating connection between said operating means and said flow control means.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said supply conduit extends along the interior of said handle.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which the control means for the supply conduit is located near said flexible connection and the operating member for said control means is mounted along the handle at a remote location from said control means.

4. The structure of claim 1 in which each of the pair of brackets is a bar with spaced longitudinal openings for the selective application of means by which said bars are attached to said yoke mounting.

5. Apparatus for applying a coating material to a surface comprising a substantially U-shaped yoke having generally parallel arms, an elongated manipulating handle connected to said yoke, shaft means connecting said arms adjacent to the free ends thereof, a coating roller having a relatively soft outer surface and being freely rotatably mounted on said shaft means, a bracket carried by each of said arms, a tubular header extending from one bracket to the other and connected thereto in spaced generally parallel relation to said roller, means on said brackets for adjustably positioning said header toward and from said roller, means for supplying coating material to said header, and said header having means for discharging material therefrom onto said roller, whereby said header can be moved toward and from said roller while remaining in spaced relation thereto and coating material will be discharged from said header onto said roller so that when the roller is moved over a surface the coating material will be transferred to the surface.

6. The structure of claim 5 in which said brackets are fixed to said arms adjacent to the free ends thereof, and each of said brackets includes at least one elongated slot disposed generally radially of said shaft means.

7. The structure of claim 6 in which each of said brackets has an arcuate edge with a plurality of radial slots extending inwardly from said arcuate edge.

8. The structure of claim 5 in which said means for discharging material from said header includes an elongated slot extending substantially the full length of said header.

9. The structure of claim 5 in which said means for 5 discharging material from said header includes a plu- 2,955,310 rality of equally spaced orifices along the length of the 3,030,652 header. 3,232,006

References Cited 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 523,777

2,281,773 5/1942 Kollmonn 15-562 2,696,696 12/1954 Tigerman 47-1.5 X

10/1960 Wichern 15-571 4/ 1962 Whitfield et a1. 15573 2/1966 Atherton et al. 471.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 4/1921 France.

ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner. 

5. APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A COATING MATERIAL TO A SURFACE COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALL U-SHAPED YOKE HAVING GENERALLY PARALLEL ARMS, AN ELONGATED MANIPULATING HANDLE CONNECTED TO SAID YOKE, SHAFT MEANS CONNECTING SAID ARMS ADJACENT TO THE FREE ENDS THEREOF, A COATING ROLLER HAVING A RELATIVELY SOFT OUTER SURFACE AND BEING FREELY ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT MEANS, A BRACKET CARRIED BY EACH OF SAID ARMS, A TUBULAR HEADER EXTENDING FROM ONE BRACKET TO THE OTHER AND CONNECTED THERETO IN SPACED GENERALLY PARALLEL RELATION TO SAID ROLLER, MEANS ON SAID BRACKETS FOR ADJUSTABLY POSITIONING SAID HEADER TOWARD AND FROM SAID ROLLER, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING COATING MATERIAL TO SAID HEADER, AND SAID HEADER HAVING MEANS FOR DISCHARGING MATERIAL THEREFROM ONTO SAID ROLLER, WHEREBY SAID HEADER CAN BE MOVED TOWARD AND FROM SAID ROLLER WHILE REMAINING IN SPACED RELATION THERETO AND COATING MATERIAL WILL BE DISCHARGED FROM SAID HEADER ONTO SAID ROLLER SO THAT WHEN THE ROLLER IS MOVED OVER A SURFACE THE COATING MATERIAL WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO THE SURFACE. 